Friday, February 1, 2013

John Cohen's Press Conference

This is what I took from what he said:
This team is his fastest team not only at Miss State but all his coaching years. This translates (scrimmages too) into lots of stolen bases for the offense. I think at least 100 this year. That produces runs.  This team has depth and lots of it. We have 6 OF's that are very capable. Bradford and Renfroe are the 2 main starters. Bradford will pitch more (he would have before but injuries sidelined him) especially against lefties late in the game. Don't be surprised to see Renfroe pitch an inning here or there. Cohen is impressed that he is a 5 tool player. He will be a 1st or 2nd rounder by MLB. He expects him to make more contact this year, he has shortened his stroke. Demarcus Henderson is the most improved. I think he starts in LF. Jacob Robson will get his share of PT too. JC player Derrick Armstrong will play in the OF also. He is very fast. OF: Bradford, Renfroe, Henderson, Robson, Fullerton and Armstrong. Cody Brown will redshirt.
1B will mainly be manned by Wes Rea. He expects Rea to really hit and defend well. 2B will likely be Brett Pirtle a JC guy. He did praise Matthew Britton as the best IF defender on the team. To me that means he will be a late inning guy to turn DP's like he did in 2012. Of course, SS is Adam Frazier, a hitting machine, will bat leadoff. 3B looks like Daryl Norris but Norris will pitch also in spots. I think Norris will be spelled by Kyle Hann whenever possible. The freshman is a star of the future. Cohen didn't mention Nick Flair but he has been doing well in the scrimmages. He is a backup at 1B and 3B.
The C position is the one that needed a backup and Nick Ammiratti certainly has improved the last few months. He may even start against running teams. He has the best pop time to 2B. Plus Ammiratti bats left.
The pitching is the strength of the team according to Cohen. The SEC rotation hasn't been completely settled except for the Saturday job, that goes to senior captain Kendall Graveman. Friday and Sunday will be fought over by Evan Mitchell, Trevor Fitts, Brandon Woodruff, Will Cox and Jacob Lindren. He is estactic over the bullpen. Lots of good arms and lots of matchup opportunities. The scrimmages and non-conf games will determine who wins the rotation and where they will relief pitch. Although, Jonathan Holder is the closer.

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